How to Survive as an Extra

Chapter 124

Gong Minwu wiped down his spear with a dry cloth.

After training hard enough to bathe his entire body in sweat, a stale, sticky odor always clung to the shaft.

Even more so during humid seasons like summer.

Of course, compared to the body odor of free mercenaries, it was mild, but he disliked the idea of smelling.

No—more precisely, he was wary of it.

It was one of the habits that had taken root when he lived in the outskirts as a child.

Children his age had mocked him relentlessly, saying he stank.

‘This should be enough.’

He brought the shaft carefully to his nose and checked the scent.

Then he stored the spear in a long hard case and lay down on his bed.

It was already dawn.

He normally slept at dawn, but tonight he was unusually awake.

Thoughts in his mind tickled at his forcibly shut eyelids.

‘Can I defeat Ji Seokhyeon…?’

His consciousness swam through countless thoughts.

And then it sank all the way down to the memory lying at the bottom.

The time he had lived in the outskirts with his biological mother.

“What? You are telling me not to come out?”

—That is how it is. I am sorry.

“It is not as though I made a mistake. I have never even broken a plate…”

—I know Minwu’s mother worked hard. But what can I do? I am hired help. I have to do what I am told.

“I… did someone come by? Like awakened people from the inner district…”

—Huh? Th-that is hard to say. Anyway, Minwu’s mother is diligent, so she will find a better place to work. Let us end the call here.

“W-Wait!”

Back when he lived in the outskirts, his mother kept them alive by working at a restaurant.

Seoul was not her hometown, and for a non-awakened person, there were not many jobs one could do in Seoul.

“If it were not for you… If you had never been born!”

In his memories, she always lived with irritation hanging from her like a cloak.

She constantly cursed Gong Minwu’s birth and resented Gong Seungryong for abandoning her coldly.

Sometimes, there was violence.

Not discipline, but one-sided assault meant to deny her own misfortune.

None of it was Gong Minwu’s fault, but he had only just entered elementary school, and he did not have the wisdom to understand the situation.

“Who told you to stare like that? Go outside and play instead. Stop showing me that filthy face.”

“……”

It was a continuous chain of days like hell.

On days she did not go to work, she shut herself in the corner and painted.

Whenever that happened, Gong Minwu left early in the morning and returned home only at night, after she had fallen asleep.

Wandering outside was enjoyable in its own way.

He would secretly steal one of her crayons, run through alley after alley, and when no one was watching, scribble on nearby walls.

It did not take long for him to be found out and severely scolded, but Gong Minwu did not repent.

Instead, he vowed again and again that next time he would steal even more crayons and run.

In his childish judgment, he believed the reason she stayed shut in the corner was because she painted.

Then, one day—

“Our Minwu, did you come back from school safely?”

“……”

“Mom is always sorry. I should have dressed you in better clothes and cooked you more delicious food.”

“……”

“From now on, I will do everything you ask! Is there something you want right now?”

When he returned home after school, she had become a different person.

So different that even a child could tell.

But he did not mind.

In that moment, she was the best mother he had ever known.

“Mom, may I try painting on a canvas?”

“Yes, of course.”

“What about going to the bathroom at dawn?”

“As much as you like.”

“Then… could you hug me just once?”

“Why would that be a problem?”

Had someone cast magic on her?

Was this a dream?

Whatever it was, Gong Minwu poured out every trivial story he had been carrying.

“So, so! I met a girl named Minyeong from the inner district! Kids in the inner district all wear school uniforms! So I said I was jealous because they do not have to buy clothes, and she told me she was jealous of me because she wanted to wear different outfits every day!”

“So that child named Minyeong… could it be Do Minyeong?”

“Yes! That is right!”

“Our Minwu finally has a friend. Would you introduce her to your mother as well?”

Gong Minwu became vaguely certain that she had taken an interest in Do Minyeong.

And he vowed not to disappoint her.

The very next day, he met Do Minyeong.

“Your mother said she wanted to see me?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“Because you are my friend.”

“But my little grand-uncle told me not to go far…”

“Then just say you are going to a friend’s house.”

“A friend?”

“Yes. We are friends.”

The two quickly made their way to the outskirts and arrived at Gong Minwu’s old, shabby home.

His mother greeted them with a bright face and stroked his hair.

“Our Minwu is such a good child. You understand everything so well.”

“Yes!”

“Then would you go buy some snacks to share with Minyeong? Here, I will give you money for the errand.”

“But the man who owns the store always hates me because he says I smell…”

“It will be fine. I already spoke to him. Go on, hurry. Hurry back.”

“Yes!”

“Then, Minyeong, shall we talk for a moment?”

“…Pardon?”

Gong Minwu stepped out with light feet.

But on the way—

“Ah! I did not ask what snacks Minyeong likes.”

He turned back toward home.

Yet for some reason, the front door was locked.

With no choice, Gong Minwu went to the kitchen window he used to sneak through every night, squeezed through the narrow gap, and climbed inside.

“Minyeong! What kind of snacks do you li—”

But what awaited him was his mother mercilessly choking Do Minyeong.

“M-Minwu… P-please… save me…!”

Do Minyeong groaned in pain.

Gong Minwu rushed over and clung to his mother’s legs.

“M-Mom? What are you doing, Mom…?”

But no answer came.

She simply continued choking Do Minyeong with blind intent to kill.

Soon, Do Minyeong lost consciousness.

Only then did Gong Minwu throw his weight into her, breaking her balance. When she fell, he grabbed her legs and pinned her so she could not move.

“Mom! Come to your senses! Mom, please!”

At that moment, the setting sun shone through the window.

Sunlight poured in.

And at the same time, she screamed.

“KRAAAH! Save me! My body is burning!”

A shriek that stabbed the ears.

Even when he released her legs, she writhed in agony, unable to escape the sunlight.

“M-Mom…?”

Her body was melting away, generating a tremendous steam as it vanished.

What had suddenly happened?

A lesson he had once heard at school rose in his mind.

That Demonic Beings who tormented humans lived among them.

Sure enough, she glared at him with blackened eyes, as though condemning him.

The same eyes as before.

“Mom… a Ghoul…”

Just then, a man smashed the front door and stepped inside.

A man with a tall, sturdy build.

Gong Minwu did not know who he was, but the face was painfully familiar.

Because he was the man his mother always painted on her canvas.

The man whose name she never told him, no matter how he asked.

The devil who had left him and his mother to become this.

“I am sorry. I came too late.”

The man was not speaking to Gong Minwu.

He spoke to her—now so much of her body had evaporated that only her blackened eyes remained.

The man approached, knelt, and gently covered her eyes with his hand.

Then he turned to Gong Minwu and continued speaking, but Gong Minwu could no longer remember what he said.

By then, Gong Minwu’s mind held only blind resentment.

‘If not for you… If you had come sooner…!’

***

The second day of the martial tournament.

At the tournament arena in the central plaza of District 10.

The final match of the quarterfinals had just begun—Gong Minwu’s bout.

His opponent was one of District 10’s younger talents, bearing the surname Hwang.

I had watched his matches in the round of thirty-two and the round of sixteen.

The way he overwhelmed opponents by swinging a double-bladed axe without hesitation had been impressive, but it seemed his luck ended at the quarterfinals.

The other participants likely thought the same.

Drawing Gong Minwu was essentially drawing the final.

“CHWAAP!”

The opponent surged forward, swinging his axe in a wide arc to seize the initiative.

As always, Gong Minwu watched the movement calmly, then blocked the huge axe with the edge of his spear.

“Ghk!”

They had only clashed blades, yet the opponent already looked strained trying to match Gong Minwu’s strength.

A fundamental difference in raw power.

It was only a single exchange, but everyone in the stands had already predicted Gong Minwu’s victory.

Could a quarterfinal really be this dull?

Boos poured out from all around.

“Just start the semifinals already! Tomorrow is only the final anyway!”

“Hmph! The tournament has declined! The bracket is far too easy!”

“Hey, Gong Clan! If you are going to toy with him, at least do it spectacularly!”

Judging by the mood, there was no need to keep watching Gong Minwu’s bout.

Since they planned to proceed through the semifinals today, he would likely end it within three exchanges.

“Or he will break the weapon.”

Soon, if Gong Minwu won, the semifinals would begin: me, Gong Seunga, Cheok Gyeongjun, and Gong Minwu.

All my opponents so far could not handle aura at all, so I had won easily simply by harmonizing my sword with my mana.

“Should I thank An Hwigom when I get back?”

Thanks to that vicious training method, I had secured victory without taking a single hit.

“No. No. If I praise him, he might start some even stranger training.”

With such trivial thoughts, I rose from my seat.

At the same time, a metallic fracture rang out.

Gong Minwu had destroyed his opponent’s weapon.

“So he fights with full sincerity no matter who he faces.”

At this rate, am I actually going to lose?

It would be nice if Cheok Gyeongjun defeated Gong Minwu in the semifinals…

Well, I should not indulge in needless expectations.

—The victory goes to Minwu, son of Gong Seungryong! The semifinals will resume in two hours. Spectators, please confirm once more that you have not left any trash behind…

I had been about to leave first, but instead I sat back down.

If I went out now, I would be crushed by the crowd.

It would be better to leave leisurely at the end.

After some time, when the exits thinned, I stood again.

But the staff around the training ground suddenly began moving in a hurry, running toward the arena’s internal facilities.

I quickly followed them.

I had overheard something in passing.

That Cheok Gyeongjun had collapsed.

When I entered the facility, a crowd had gathered in front of the waiting room, and as I had heard, Cheok Gyeongjun lay sprawled on the floor.

Gong Seungho, who was checking his pulse, shouted urgently.

“This is a poison technique! Someone used poison on Cheok Gyeongjun!”

“W-What?”

“He still has a pulse! Bring medical staff immediately! And summon everyone who used these internal facilities to the manor! One of them is an assassin!”

I hid among the crowd and activated my Demonic Eye.

Just as Gong Seungho said, it looked like poison-like mana had paralyzed Cheok Gyeongjun’s nerves.

And to collapse right before the semifinal against Gong Minwu…

Was it not an obvious scheme aimed at Gong Minwu?

Gong Seungho seemed to reach the same conclusion, and he barked again.

“Minwu! Bring him as well! The tournament is suspended until this matter is resolved!”